Studying a double degree and even with a double major is a lot of work for Mei, but she enjoys the challenge of juggling both degrees because of her passion for the different subjects. She took on Law as an added choice and finds it a fantastic field of study.

‘Since high school I’ve always enjoyed History and Classics, and I love anything old with a story behind it. I started my Law degree upon others’ encouragement. I like the different challenges my degrees provide.’

Originally from Taiwan, Mei moved with her family to Christchurch while she was young. Attending UC was an obvious choice because of its closeness, but also because Mei was impressed with the different departments for her subjects.

‘It’s a beautiful place with an excellent Law School and Humanities department. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s the closest university to my house.

‘I’m very much a book person, so the library facilities on campus are definitely a highlight for me. I like the lecturers as well, since many of them are very approachable and helpful.’

As if her chosen studies weren’t enough, Mei has also taken on one of UC’s Internship courses. She is part of a project with CEISMIC and HitLab New Zealand producing a phone application that can display the user’s location in Christchurch as it was before the earthquakes, acting as a historical tool and as an aid to help people find their way around town. Mei’s task is to research and document information on the buildings to be added to the UC Quakestudies digital archive, to act as a guide for the application. With her love for history, choosing to take part in a project focusing on the history of her town made perfect sense.

Mei can take her two degrees in many directions, and she intends to pursue both in a future career.

‘I hope to become a lawyer at the moment but I also plan to work in areas involving History and Classics at some stage in my life.’

For anyone thinking of following Mei’s degree choice, she recommends to ‘work hard, don’t give up, and most of all just enjoy it.’